Moderate Wine Consumption May Slow Biological Aging in Men, Study Finds

 Impossible, don't you subscribe to this earlier research? My use of alcohol is going to prevent dementia by vastly increasing my social connections. Don't follow me, I'm not medically trained,

There May Be No Safe Amount of Booze When It Comes to Dementia Risk

Safest level of alcohol consumption is none, worldwide study shows

Moderate Wine Consumption May Slow Biological Aging in Men, Study Finds

The Saddest Thing About How Men View Their Own Depression

Is your doctor and family aware of this? I never had any discussions about the lost abilities from the stroke. Not that I ever considered myself depressed.

Readable article here:

The Saddest Thing About How Men View Their Own Depression

Research it is based upon here:

Stigma in Male Depression and Suicide: A Canadian Sex Comparison Study

Men who live alone run a greater risk of dying prematurely after stroke

Well, it is going to take one hell of a woman to get me out of being single and this risk I'll accept with great pleasure. 14 years now for me.

Men who live alone run a greater risk of dying prematurely after stroke

Men who live alone have a considerably greater long-term risk of dying prematurely than other patients. This is shown in a doctoral thesis that followed 1,090 stroke cases in western Sweden.
As part of the Sahlgrenska Academy Study on Ischemic Stroke (SAHLSIS), Petra Redfors examined the long-term prognosis for 1,090 victims of ischemic stroke before the age of 70 and compared the results with 600 controls.
Excess mortality
According to her findings, 36% of patients who were living alone, as opposed to 17% of those with partners, died within 12 years after stroke. Among men, the gap widened to 44% vs. 14%.
Excess mortality associated with living alone was still found after adjusting for physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, low educational level and other known risk factors.
“Among the conceivable causes are that people who live alone lead less healthy lives, are less prone to take their medication and tend to wait longer before going to the emergency room,” Dr. Redfors says. “For the healthy controls, excess mortality was also greater among men, particularly those living alone.”
Multiple risk
Etiology played a key role as well— having had a stroke due to large vessel disease, a blood clot from the heart or diabetes was an additional risk factor.
The thesis demonstrates that stroke victims faced 10 times as great a risk of recurrence within 12 years as healthy controls. The risk of myocardial infarction was twice as much.
“The pattern of excess mortality among people who live alone showed up here as well,” Dr. Redfors says. “Among the other risk factors for recurrence were the severity of the original event, along with diabetes or coronary artery disease. Physical inactivity increased the risk of cardiac infarction after stroke.”
Long-term cognitive loss
The thesis also found that a large percentage of stroke victims were still experiencing memory, concentration, cognitive and other loss at 7-year follow-up. Because many of them are of working age, the personal and social impact is enormous.
“Our results underscore the importance of intensive, long-term prevention among stroke patients, including medication for hypertension, diabetes and other underlying conditions, along with lifestyle changes,” Dr. Redfors says. “Above all, serious consideration needs to be given to providing greater support and more thorough information for patients who are living alone.”
The thesis Long-term Post-stroke Outcome – the Sahlgrenska Academy Study on Ischemic Stroke was defended on November 28.
http://sahlgrenska.gu.se/english/news_and_events/news/News_Detail/men-who-live-alone-run-a-greater-risk-of-dying-prematurely-after-stroke-.cid1251064

Low testosterone and the risk of dementia in elderly men

Something for your doctor to consider when trying to prevent your 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study.

Low testosterone and the risk of dementia in elderly men

  In this study, the authors aim was to examine the association of plasma estradiol and testosterone with risk for dementia in elderly men. Low levels of testosterone are associated with a risk for dementia in elderly men. The association between low bio–T and dementia may be more relevant to men 80 years or older and men with a high level of education.
Methods

• Within the population based Three-City study, including 3650 men age 65 years and older, a case–cohort design was set up after 4-years of follow-up.
• Baseline plasma levels of total 17-β estradiol (Total-E2), total testosterone (total-T) and bioavailable testosterone (bio-T) were measured for all cases of incident dementia (n=105) and for a random sample of the cohort (n=413).
• Cox regression models were used to estimate multivariate steroid sex hormone-associated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals of dementia.

Results

• There was a reverse J-shaped relationship between total-T and risk for dementia (P=.007).
• Compared with the median tertile, the HRs associated with total-T in the lower and upper tertile were increased (HR, 2.33; P=.026; HR, 1.9, P=.126; respectively).
• Low bio-T was associated with a greater risk for dementia (HR for one standard deviation of decreasing log(bio-T), 1.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–1.62).
• An interaction was found between bio-T and age (P<.0001), and bio-T and education (P=.044).
• Risk for dementia associated with low bio-T was greater in older men (80 years or older) than in younger men (younger than 80 years; HR, 3.11; P=.011 vs. HR, 1.07, P=.715, respectively) and in men with high level of education compared with those with low level of education (HR, 2.32; P=.0002 vs. HR, 0.95; P=.790, respectively).
• No significant association was found between Total-E2 and dementia.

Dark chocolate consumption improves leukocyte adhesion factors and vascular function in overweight men

I may be 15-20 pounds overweight. Is that enough to get the benefits from dark chocolate consumption? And what about the women? Can I give them dark chocolate and tell them its healthy?

Dark chocolate consumption improves leukocyte adhesion factors and vascular function in overweight men

1. Diederik Esser*,^†,
2. Monica Mars*,^†,
3. Els Oosterink*,^†,
4. Angelique Stalmach^‡,
5. Michael Müller*,^† and
6. Lydia A. Afman*,^†,¹

+ Author Affiliations

1. ^*Top Institute Food and Nutrition, Wageningen, The Netherlands;
2. ^†Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands; and
3. ^‡Centre for Population and Health Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

1. ↵1Correspondence: Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, Bomenweg 2, 6703 HD Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: lydia.afman@wur.nl

Abstract

Flavanol-enriched chocolate consumption increases endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Most research so far has focused on flow-mediated dilation (FMD) only; the effects on other factors relevant to endothelial health, such as inflammation and leukocyte adhesion, have hardly been addressed. We investigated whether consumption of regular dark chocolate also affects other markers of endothelial health, and whether chocolate enrichment with flavanols has additional benefits. In a randomized double-blind crossover study, the effects of acute and of 4 wk daily consumption of high flavanol chocolate (HFC) and normal flavanol chocolate (NFC) on FMD, augmentation index (AIX), leukocyte count, plasma cytokines, and leukocyte cell surface molecules in overweight men (age 45–70 yr) were investigated. Sensory profiles and motivation scores to eat chocolate were also collected. Findings showed that a 4 wk chocolate intake increased FMD by 1%, which was paralleled by a decreased AIX of 1%, decreased leukocyte cell count, decreased plasma sICAM1 and sICAM3, and decreased leukocyte adhesion marker expression (P<0.05 for time effect), with no difference between HFC and NFC consumption. Flavanol enrichment did affect taste and negatively affected motivation to consume chocolate. This study provides new insights on how chocolate affects endothelial health by demonstrating that chocolate consumption, besides improving vascular function, also lowers the adherence capacity of leukocytes in the circulation.—Esser, D., Mars, M., Oosterink, E., Stalmach, A., Müller, M., Afman, L.A. Dark chocolate consumption improves leukocyte adhesion factors and vascular function in overweight men.

Study: Protein from meat, fish may help men age well

This is only an observational study so don't take this as gospel, Your doctor will know what to recommend.

Study: Protein from meat, fish may help men age well

Older men may gain a boost physically, mentally and socially if they eat a diet rich in meat and fish, according to a new study from Japan.
This study of more than 1,000 older adults suggested that men who ate the most meat and fish reduced their odds of mental and physical decline by 39 percent, compared with men who ate the least animal protein.
But the same association was not seen in women. Nor were the same benefits linked to proteins from plants, the researchers found.
The study doesn't actually prove that eating meat and fish caused the mens health improvements, or that low animal protein intake contributes to early decline, however.
"It is an observational study that simply shows a relationship between protein and functional decline. It does not prove cause and effect," said Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
"Also, the study was conducted in Japanese men and women, not people living in the U.S.," she added. Because it is such a specific study population, the results may not apply to people elsewhere, Sandon pointed out.

More at link.

Brains of women and men show strong hard-wired differences

And does your neurologist need to adjust your 100% stroke protocols based on your sex?

Brains of women and men show strong hard-wired differences

Ok maybe not so real. 

Um, About Those “Male”- and “Female”-Wired Brains

Woman's Touch Zaps Man's Opioid System

You'll have to ask your doctor if this is good or bad for your social life. I don't have to worry about this.

Woman's Touch Zaps Man's Opioid System

A couple of paragraphs to tease you.
Endogenous opioid release was diminished in men when they were softly stroked by their female partners, providing a clue to brain mechanisms involved in social relations, a researcher said here.

"[Social] touching deactivates the opioid system," he told attendees at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting. Although it may seem paradoxical, it actually confirms earlier studies that had found an inverse relationship between endogenous opioid activity and social success, Tuominen said.
For example, one recent study found deactivation of the opioid system was associated with social acceptance, while others showed increases in opioid activity in the context of social rejection.

The current study, Tuominen said, "may help to understand the complex relationship between psychiatric disorder and problems in social life."

Serum estradiol and risk of stroke in elderly men

You are on your own with your doctor on this.
http://www.neurology.org/content/68/8/563.short

Abstract

Objective: To determine if levels of serum estradiol and testosterone can predict stroke in a population-based sample of elderly men.

Methods: Serum 17β estradiol and testosterone were measured in 2,197 men aged 71 to 93 years who participated in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study from 1991 to 1993. All were free of prevalent stroke, coronary heart disease, and cancer. Participants were followed to the end of 1998 for thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events.

Results: During the course of follow-up, 124 men developed a stroke (9.1/1,000 person-years). After age adjustment, men in the top quintile of serum estradiol (≥125 pmol/L [34.1 pg/mL]) experienced a twofold excess risk of stroke vs men whose estradiol levels were lower (14.8 vs 7.3/1,000 person-years, p < 0.001). Among the lower quintiles, there were little differences in the risk of stroke. Findings were also significant and comparable for bioavailable estradiol and for thromboembolic and hemorrhagic events. After additional adjustment for hypertension, diabetes, adiposity, cholesterol concentrations, atrial fibrillation, and other characteristics, men in the top quintile of serum estradiol continued to have a higher risk of stroke vs those whose estradiol levels were lower (relative hazards = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.5 to 3.4, p < 0.001). Testosterone was not related to the risk of stroke.

Conclusions: High levels of serum estradiol may be associated with an elevated risk of stroke in elderly men.

Erectile dysfunction linked with increased risk of CV events

OK, ok, going after the catchy headline. They do make a weak case for ED drugs helping prevent CV events.
http://www.theheart.org/article/1494733.do?utm_medium=email&utm_source=20130114_heartwire&utm_campaign=newsletter
"Improvement of ED by lifestyle interventions per se might be beneficial in terms of prognosis, and our results highlight the role of ED as a potential low-cost biomarker that would call for more aggressive cardiovascular-risk-factor modification," write the authors. "Of special interest is the effect of pharmacological treatment of ED, because it seems that this may also have a beneficial impact on risk."

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer:

Increased risk of cardiovascular events. Be careful. 

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer:

Abstract

Highlight Terms Gene Ontology(1) Diseases(1) Chemicals(3)

Between 1960 and 1975, the Veterans Administration Cooperative Urological Research Group conducted a consecutive series of 3 major randomized clinical trials comparing various endocrine treatments for newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. Six major conclusions concerning hormonal treatment emerged from these studies: 1) increased hazard of cardiovascular death after therapy with 5 mg diethylstilbestrol (DES); 2) orchiectomy plus DES no better than orchiectomy or DES alone; 3) equivalent effect of 1.0 and 5.0 mg DES on cancer; 4) reduced cardiovascular hazard from therapy with 1.0 mg DES; 5) Premarin and Provera no better than 1.0 mg DES at doses studied; 6) decisions about hormone treatment at diagnosis dependent on patient characteristics, mainly age and Gleason grade. In this paper, these studies are reviewed briefly and data are presented to support these conclusions. Some tentative treatment recommendations are proposed.

Frequent red meat eaters at higher risk of stroke

Eventually everything you eat will be a risk for stroke. Hey, living is a risk!

Frequent red meat eaters at higher risk of stroke

A high-protein diet might benefit health in some ways, but depending on what kind of protein a person consumes, it could raise their stroke risk too, suggests a large new study that finds eating lots of red meat ups the likelihood of having a stroke while poultry lowers it.
"The main message from this paper is that the type of protein or the protein package is really important for the risk of stroke. We have to consider protein in the context of the foods," said Dr. Frank Hu, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and one of the authors of the study.
He and his colleagues collected data from two massive health surveys that tracked tens of thousands of men and women from roughly middle age to their senior and elderly years.
Over 20-some years of the study, nearly 1,400 men and more than 2,600 women had a stroke.
Caused by a blood clot or a burst blood vessel that stops blood flow to the brain, stroke is the third most common cause of death in the United States. Twenty-six out of every 1,000 people in the U.S. have experienced a stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and about 800,000 die of stroke each year.
To see what influence different types of dietary protein have on stroke risk, the researchers divided up the people in the study based on how much red meat, poultry, fish, dairy and other sources of protein they typically ate each day.
Men who ate more than two servings of red meat each day -- which was at the high end of the meat eaters -- had a 28 percent increased risk of stroke compared to men who averaged about a third of a serving of red meat each day, the low end of the red meat eaters.
The researchers considered a serving of red meat as four to six ounces of beef or a hamburger patty.
Women who ate nearly two servings of red meat a day had a 19 percent higher risk of stroke than women who ate less than half a serving each day.
A 19 percent increase in stroke risk means that instead of 26 out of every 1,000 people having a stroke, 31 out of every 1,000 people would have one.
The researchers also looked at the change in stroke risk that would come with substituting different forms of protein for one daily serving of red meat: swapping in one serving a day of poultry lowered stroke risk by 27 percent, a serving of nuts or fish was linked to a 17 percent drop in risk and a serving of dairy dropped the risk by 10 to 11 percent.
Dr. Adam Bernstein, the lead author of the study and a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic, said he was not surprised to see that red meat eaters suffer more strokes.
"We've also done work on red meat and diabetes and red meat and coronary heart disease. So it makes sense that these cardio-metabolic diseases are grouped together," Bernstein told Reuters Health.
An earlier study, led by Susanna Larsson at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, also found that eating red meat had a link to stroke risk (see Reuters Health story of December 31, 2010).
What was new in the current study, Larsson said, was that frequent poultry eaters showed a lowered risk of stroke.
People who ate the most chicken or turkey each day -- about a half serving for women and three-quarters of a serving for men -- had a 13 percent reduced risk of stroke compared to those who ate barely more than a serving a day.
One serving was considered four ounces.
"I do not think that poultry has been considered as a protein source that might lower the risk of stroke. This is new," Larsson told Reuters Health in an email.
Also surprising in the study was that fish seemed to offer no protection against stroke.
Larsson pointed out that earlier work has found fewer strokes among groups who eat fish often.
It's possible that the benefits of fish depend on how it's served, Bernstein said.
"There's a lot of variation in how people cook and prepare fish, and we couldn't get down to that level," he said.
The researchers didn't prove that beef is to blame for the increased number of strokes, but Bernstein said it could be that the fat and iron in red meat play a role.
Larsson said the findings support current recommendations to limit how much red meat people eat, and to opt for chicken and fish instead.

Alcohol’s Impact On Heart And Stroke Risk May Differ For Men, Women

Be careful out there.
http://latestinsurancenews.org/alcohols-impact-on-heart-and-stroke-risk-may-differ-for-men-women/
The volume of alcohol consumption may have a significantly different effect on heart and stroke risk in men and women, in accordance with a study of Japanese men and women published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“An amount of alcohol that may be beneficial for men is not good for women at all,” stated Hiroyasu Iso, M.D., co-author of the study and professor of public health at Osaka University in Japan.
Researchers analyzed data from a survey of 34,776 men and 48,906 women (ages 40 to 79) selected from the larger Japan Collaborative Cohort Study (JACC) to determine the association of alcohol use with the risks of stroke and heart disease. Participants who had not experienced cancer, stroke or heart disease before the study completed questionnaires about their lifestyles and medical histories and provided information about their drinking of sake (rice wine), shochu (a type of brandy), beer, whiskey and/or wine.
Researchers calculated the risks and benefits of alcohol consumption following adjusting for age and several other risk factors, including smoking, weight, body mass index, the presence of high blood pressure or diabetes, exercise habits, stress, education and diet.
During a 14.2-year follow-up, 1,628 participants died from stroke and 736 died from heart disease.
Men who reported drinking heavily (at least 46 grams of alcohol per day, equivalent to four or more standard alcoholic beverages) at the time of the survey had a 19 percent lower danger of dying from coronary heart disease than nondrinking men.
In stark contrast, women who drank that much quadrupled their risk of heart disease death over that of nondrinking women. Light drinking (less than 23 grams of alcohol per day, about two drinks a day) reported on the survey was associated with a lower threat of heart disease death in women by 17 percent; whilst intake between 23 and 46 grams per day was associated with an increased danger of 45 percent.
“In women, we identified a slightly reduced threat with light consumption but a much greater risk with heavy alcohol use,” Iso mentioned.
In men, heavy alcohol use was associated with an increased threat of death from all types of stroke by 48 percent. The risk of hemorrhagic stroke (caused by a blood vessel bursting within the brain) was increased 67 percent. The threat of ischemic stroke (caused by a blocked blood vessel in the brain or leading to it) was higher by 35 percent.
In women, heavy alcohol use was associated with a higher risk of stroke death by 92 percent. Hemorrhagic stroke death danger was increased by 61 percent. The risk of ischemic stroke death was increased 2.43 times.
“We expected to find an increased danger of hemorrhagic stroke,” Iso said. “But since alcohol reduces the ability of the blood to clot, we didn’t expect to find the increases in ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease.”
Only 15 percent of women in JACC drank any alcohol, far less than the 45.9 percent of U.S. women who reported using alcohol in 2005, Iso mentioned.
Before this study, evidence suggested that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption might be associated with a lower threat of cardiovascular disease in women. But data on heavy drinking was limited along with the question had not been addressed in an Asian country, where both drinking and heart disease are less common.
“One limitation of the study is that, in Japanese culture, there are social restrictions against women drinking as they get older,” Iso said. “In that culture, the women who do drink may have different types of jobs or other aspects of their lifestyle that may support explain the excess threat as well as the alcohol exposure itself.”
Iso mentioned more research could aid determine how alcohol affects cardiovascular threat.